Dissanayake said that although the government was giving concessions on the new Hybrid tax to individuals who intend to purchase hybrid vehicles for personal use, which can be established by the individual signing an open Letter of Credit (LC), some individuals who cannot buy vehicles on their own have personally signed open LC’s and have to purchase the vehicles through small car dealers have also been affected by the tax.

“The Hybrid tax was intended to be imposed on large-scale car dealerships and for those importing cars to sell them.

The government has justly given a concession for individuals buying hybrid vehicles for personal use, which they can ascertain by personally signing an LC. However, several hundred individuals, who cannot buy cars on their own have signed LC’s and intend to buy hybrid vehicles through small car dealers. These individuals unfairly have to pay the hybrid tax intended for car dealerships,” Dissanayake alleged.

In response Minister of Finance Ravi Karunanayake said that the government will not let individuals be victimized by the new hybrid tax and that they would be granted concessions. However, the minister was of the view that this method of an individual buying a car for personal use through a small-scale car dealer could be exploited by corrupt individuals for their own benefit.

“We will not allow any individual to be victimized or adversely affected by the new hybrid tax. For individuals who want to buy hybrid vehicles for personal use we have given them concessions.

If there are those who cannot buy hybrid vehicles on their own and must buy them through small car business, then they too will be given concessions. However, the latter circumstance cannot involve too many individuals as that method can be easily manipulated by cunning businessmen,” the minister said.